Sponsored by Thames 200 Ultra

Everyone seems to be paddling the length of the Thames right now. The British TV naturalist Steve Backshall set a record last year, Billy Butler broke it this year, two Brazilian Olympians set another record, and even the guy who unicycled around the world just did Thames Source to Sea.

With all the attention on this particular adventure, it only makes sense that paddling the 200 km length of the Thames is becoming an official race on 24th August. The newest ultra paddling race, the Thames 200 Ultra, will begin at the “navigable start” of the Thames in Lechlade, a quaint town near the Cotswolds that sits roughly halfway between central London and Cardiff. From Lechlade, the Thames meanders east, then north, swings down through Oxford, Abingdon, Wallingford, and Pangbourne. At Reading, the Kennet & Avon canal merges into the river and veterans of the Devizes to Westminster (DW) race will start to recite each lock from memory. Paddlers will glide along quiet, tree-lined twists and turns in the dark past Windsor Castle until they reach the last of 44 locks and the home stretch from Hampton Court Palace. Roughly 15-30 hours after leaving Lechlade, racers will finish at Teddington lock where the Thames becomes tidal.

Everyone is doing this source to sea

As the most famous river in the UK, it’s not surprising that the Thames is a hot spot for paddling, racing, and record-setting. But the Source to Sea challenge is definitely having a moment. In August 2023, Steve Backshall set a new Guinness World Record with partner Tom McGibbon of 20 hours and 28 minutes for Lechlade to Teddington with portages. Steve is an MBE and has two BAFTAs, but this record was a big deal for him: “This was one of the hardest things either of us have ever done.”

In 2024, Billy Butler thought “I can beat that,” and he did. Billy teamed up with Tom Dawson, and they dropped the record to 15 hours and 44 minutes. The challenge even got some international attention when Brazilian Olympians Sebastian Cuattrin and Sebastian Szubski came out to break a similar record: the same course, but paddling through half the locks and portaging the other half. Their trip took 21 hours and 57 minutes. Waiting for each lock to open adds a lot of extra time, though it was probably a welcome break to be forced to wait and eat a snack in the midst of nearly 22 hours of paddling.

Just in the last few weeks, Ed Pratt (@mredpratt of unicycling around the world fame) did his own version of the Thames Source to Sea by starting all the way up by the Thames Head Inn near Kemble. Ed’s footage proves there’s good reason this section isn’t considered “navigable” – for the first 12 miles of his trip, he zipped up his wetsuit to slog on foot through thick reeds, scramble under brambles, and duck under low bridges. Finally, on Day 4 from Cricklade, he was able to break out the plastic kayak that would take him through Lechlade, Oxford, Reading, London, and all the way to the sea in Sheerness. Hundreds of thousands of fans followed Ed’s journey, which he’s planning to turn into a documentary.

The best 90% of the Thames to paddle

For the upcoming Thames 200 Ultra, competitors need not worry about deep muck or crashing waves: Lechlade to Teddington is easily the best 90% of the Thames to paddle*. What’s so cool about paddling the length of the Thames? Other than getting to say you did it, Steve Backshall summed it up enthusiastically from the front of his K2 about 80 km into his record-breaking paddle last August: “We’ve been going through the most beautiful section of the Thames… A lot of people have the impression that it’s a dirty brown river that flows through London. But it’s been like a wilderness! And it’s the Thames!” If you need more convincing: Steve and Billy, who successively broke the Thames length record, are both involved in organising and promoting the Thames 200 Ultra.

The first ever Thames 200 Ultra race will run on the August Bank Holiday weekend. Any person-powered craft is welcome, from marathon kayaks to sit-and-switch canoes to stand up paddleboards. The mass start in Lechlade, where the Thames is close to its narrowest, promises to be a spectacle – everyone will self-seed across the river and set off together with fanfare from the banks. Because the race can be done straight through or as a relay, each team will have to decide their own tactics.

3 dimensional chess, or Thames 200 relay tactics?

The race rules allow you to change crew and/or craft at each of five checkpoints between Lechlade and Teddington. With almost no restrictions on craft (no motors), the options feel endless. The marathon tacticians are so excited that you can almost hear them chuckling quietly in glee, thinking about all the feisty debates on relay tactics that they’re about to win.

One of the top contenders for the win is a crew of six (mostly) ex-GB kayakers from (mostly) Royal Canoe Club: Matt Bowley, Ed Rutherford, Graham O’Regan, Lee Maddocks, Jon O’Grady, and Ben Parfitt with Tris Turner as an unofficial alternate. The distance of each leg averages around 30 km, the same distance as an international marathon canoe race with the ICF, which happens to be the specialty of this crew and several of the top contenders signed up so far. Tactically, the Royal(ish) crew is considering a few different approaches. Matt says: “One of the things we like the idea of is, since it’s a mass start, you can base your tactics on what other teams are doing. So if we use a strong paddler to start with, that might put us in the lead, or we might be in a group – that will then change how we operate after.”

Though there’s six in the crew and six legs of the race, there’s no need to take each leg solo. This team could each do two legs racing as three K2s, or even mix things up and start the race in a K4 to really wrap up the early advantage. And then keep the K4 on hand for the finish if they need the extra boost? They’re keeping the final decision close to the chest. With tough competition lined up, including world championship medalists and seasoned ultra paddlers, the pressure is on for them to use the right tactics… Check out Paddle Daily’s “Top Contenders” preview to scope out their competition – even if you’re not racing, the Thames 200 Ultra promises great entertainment.

Not just another race

Paddlers in the UK are lucky to have a variety of cool race opportunities all year round, from the marathon canoe/kayak club Hasler series (which is also starting to hold SUP classes), to races on the sea with unpredictable conditions and the occasional downwinder, to epic adventures like the Great Glen in Scotland and the Devizes to Westminster (DW). But across craft type, experience level, and location, the T200 is probably the most accessible ultra race. Two “Paddler Type” groups stand out:

Queens Bees (of DW) & Wannabees: Paddling 200 km straight through will be an appealing accomplishment for both experienced and new ultra racers – for those newer to those distances who’ve been training for DW, the T200 offers summertime warmth, longer days, and more stable water levels. Particularly for those who’ve missed out on the more stringent qualification criteria for the early spring DW races this year and last year which had record-setting water levels, the T200 is the perfect ‘entry level’ ultra that also happens to tick off key DW qualification criteria.

2025 will be the first year that the DW has invited SUPs, so the timing of the first T200 makes for a perfect test run for anyone on a paddleboard. The locks will be one of the more challenging aspects of racing by SUP since the boards can be a bit cumbersome to carry (wheels, anyone?) and the T200 only has 44 locks to portage compared to 77+ for DW (yes, “only”…)

Smells Like Team Spirit: For those who don’t have time to train for the straight-through race; anyone worried about disrupting a strict competition/training schedule; or paddlers who aren’t quite ready to accept that they’re “ultra” crazy: the team relay option means you could complete the race by paddling as little as 26 km, a single leg of the race. Even for experienced ultra paddlers who typically paddle solo or in a double, getting to race as part of a larger team makes it more fun and breaks up the monotony.

And you can still tell all your friends, family, and co-workers that you paddled the length of the Thames! Even if you were just along along for the ride.

Paddle Daily will be LIVE!

Are you tempted to race yet? Sign up to be part of the first ever Thames 200 Ultra at thames200ultra.com, and tune into Paddle Daily’s lead-up coverage on our website, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Plus, we’ll be LIVE from the race on 24-25 August! You won’t want to miss this one.

*Cricklade to Lechlade also makes for a cracking day out, as many sit-and-switch marathon canoeists know well. Less well suited for anything with a rudder. And of course I’d be remiss not to include the Richmond to Teddington section of the Thames in its best parts. But beyond that… it’s only really cool when you’re finishing the Devizes to Westminster race between Parliament and the London Eye. I’ll pass on the rest of it. If you disagree – debate me in the comments section 😉